Time to take back OUR game

[youngy]

Hi folks,

Hopefully one or two of you might remember me (I'm a Hearts fan) from a couple of years ago when all the hoo ha was going on over the Old Firm charging their disgusting 5% tax to sell tickets for away games. Well, now I'm back :0)

First off, I take my hat off to your manager, Terry Butcher, for his comments on the BBC last night - you should all petition Highland Council to get the man given the key to Inverness.

Secondly, please have a wee read and sign this (if you wish) http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42156.html

Feel free to place the link to the petition on any piece og the internet you see fit.

It's not REALLY about saying you will not go to watch your team ... it's more about making a very real threat. The only kind that those "in power" understand. One that will hit them in their pockets.

IT'S TIME TO TAKE BACK OUR GAME!!!

Cheers

youngy

[Scotty]

Hi Youngy (or is it Troy McClure ?) ... your post reminds me of the Simpsons !!! "You might remember me from such campaigns as ....."

Sorry for the skepticism, but there are lots of petitions going around right now, lots of facebook pages, lots of un-coordinated and separate little campaigns .... wondering how this one will be any different.

[youngy]

Hi Youngy (or is it Troy McClure ?) ... your post reminds me of the Simpsons !!! "You might remember me from such campaigns as ....."

Sorry for the skepticism, but there are lots of petitions going around right now, lots of facebook pages, lots of un-coordinated and separate little campaigns .... wondering how this one will be any different.

You got any links or emails to other campaigns? I am MORE than happy to coordinate in any way with other groups who are trying to pressure the SPL into doing the right thing.

Only way mine is different, right now, is the threat to basically withdraw support to our OWN clubs. That seems to be the best way to force OUR club's owners down the route of telling the Old Firm (and their lackeys) where to get off.

[Scotty]

Hi Youngy

First of all, dont get me wrong, I am NOT against your idea, although I tend to think that fans of our club would prefer to support our own club over this rather than partake in any boycott as they (the Club) have been consistent and vociferous in their opposition to the "South of Perth League" of 10. Twice in the past week or two our Chairman has issued press statements to clarify his position in relation to missives issued by the SPL that tried to spin it as if everyone was happy and of course everyone is now aware of the comments of Terry Butcher too. Your own club and Killie seem to be the others who are holding out and only Dundee United, who have done a complete U-turn and St Mirren who seem to be changing their minds depending on the wind direction were the other clubs opposed.

One of our own members here has started a facebook page and I think it came up in that discussion about others. There have also been a few other mentions of petitions on here and on other sites which are doing the rounds.

I am at work right now so no chance to go hunting for all the info but if any of our members want to post links to the various petitions/pages in this thread, it would be appreciated .......

[FoolPhysio]

It is rapidly apparent that the thing missing here is a coherent confederated Supporters Association that in instances such as this, would be able to represent the bulk of the fan-base. Or perhaps there already is one?

At present it looks like the only recognised authority are the Clubs themselves, and it all depends on how much they are willing to listen and represent their own fans views. This in turn depends on whether or not they have a formal fan association or similar representative group.

The only other thing we have is the media . . . good luck there then.

[TopSix]

Banners on Saturday would suffice.

[FoolPhysio]

Any protest has to stop short of boycotting the Clubs - they certainly cannot afford to be damaged economically and to do so will only make the lure of filthy TV lucre more appealing.

We need to be encouraging numbers up, not down!

[CaleyD]

It is rapidly apparent that the thing missing here is a coherent confederated Supporters Association that in instances such as this, would be able to represent the bulk of the fan-base. Or perhaps there already is one?

At present it looks like the only recognised authority are the Clubs themselves, and it all depends on how much they are willing to listen and represent their own fans views. This in turn depends on whether or not they have a formal fan association or similar representative group.

The only other thing we have is the media . . . good luck there then.

We have the Supporters Trust which comes under the larger umbrella of Supporters Direct who are the ones who put together, distributed, collated and presented the findings of the recent fans survey - full results of the survey can be hound HERE

Supporters Direct in Scotland alone......

• 34 Supporters' Trusts
• £3.5 million investment in football clubs
• 15,000 members approx.
• 25 Trusts with shares in their football club
• 14 Directors on Football Club Boards
• 300 Volunteer Directors
• 2 Re-formed Clubs (Clydebank FC & Gretna 2008 FC)
• 5 clubs saved for their communities due to supporters' trust interventions
  (Clyde, Dundee, Falkirk, Morton and Raith Rovers)

That's a fairly impressive CV and one that continues to grow.

As you can see, a vehicle definitely exist for the fans to get/add to the voice of influence they seek.....they just need to sign up and start making use of it via the Supporters Trusts attached to their individual teams.

ICT Supporters Trust have their AGM tomorrow night (see stickied post) and new members are welcome to join on the night. Following that they will be having their regular football forum which will have a panel that includes Jonny Hayes and Lee Cox. Peter Murphy, Chairman of the Trust, has also agreed to sit on the panel and will hopefully be able to answer a few questions from what came out of his recent discussion with Neill Doncaster. I know the Trust aren't looking for the discussion forum on the night to be dominated by this subject, but I'm sure that if the need/want exists then they will look to hold a separate open meeting on the matter at some point in the near future.

[L_G]

Supporters Direct are meeting with the Supporters Trusts this weekend to discuss a positive plan of action. Scotty is spot on, why would we boycott our team when our chairman and manager are both against the 10 team proposal.

I know why don't you boycott your game if you are not happy with your club's stance and come to Inverness and show your support for Terry Butcher and the board for standing up to the powers that be.

We are at home to Hamilton on Saturday and Aberdeen on Wednesday night, you are all welcome.

Do we need to look out the blood stained bandages again?

[Bridge_Ender]

I think it is the time for all the Trusts to co-ordinate and arrange a protest. If ever there was a time for them to prove their usefulness now is it.

With an AGM at such an opportune time surely the SPL and Butchers comments should be pretty much the only topic on the discussion?!

[Georgeios]

Shoes off if you hate the plan shoes off..... yada yada ;-)

[FoolPhysio]

We have the Supporters Trust which comes under the larger umbrella of Supporters Direct who are the ones who put together, distributed, collated and presented the findings of the recent fans survey - full results of the survey can be found HERE

CaleyD, you are a star!

Report makes very interesting reading and it explains where the 88% figure has been coming from.

The most striking thing was that the fans preferences were towards the 16-18 club leagues. The comments at the end were very illuminating on the reasons why this was being so strongly supported.

Doncaster and his cohorts have been claiming there are no alternatives being offered - really? Have they not been listening to anything anyone has said . . . oh, wait, silly me - there have been alternatives offered, it is just they pooh-pooh them as unrealistic.

The call has been on the SPL (and to an extent the SFA) to provide evidence on why a 10-team league would be so much more viable than anything else. I think we all know why, it is a question on whether they have the cojones to admit it - it's all about television and sponsorship.

I am in the middle of reading Hunting Grounds by Gary Sutherland - fascinating, and it really puts a lot of this into perspective.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunting-Grounds-Scottish-Football-Safari/dp/1841587354/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295458180&sr=8-1

[CaleyD]

I think it is the time for all the Trusts to co-ordinate and arrange a protest. If ever there was a time for them to prove their usefulness now is it.

With an AGM at such an opportune time surely the SPL and Butchers comments should be pretty much the only topic on the discussion?!

Not really the main purpose of an AGM which is there to discuss matters arising in the running of the business/organisation in the previous 12 months and making any changes/proposals for the following 12 months (loosely speaking).

I'm sure the subject will come up for discussion and members will be asking what is and can be done but the issue is one which would be served better by a meeting open to all fans, the club and anyone else with an interest in the subject....which a company AGM is not.

[Heilandee]

No sure why but this clip keeps springing to mind............Motivational speech

[Bridge_Ender]

Not really the main purpose of an AGM which is there to discuss matters arising in the running of the business/organisation in the previous 12 months and making any changes/proposals for the following 12 months (loosely speaking).

I'm sure the subject will come up for discussion and members will be asking what is and can be done but the issue is one which would be served better by a meeting open to all fans, the club and anyone else with an interest in the subject....which a company AGM is not.

Do AGM's not have a time for AOB anymore? Agree that they have their own business to attend to first but it wouldn't take much to have an open discussion with members about what would be the best way forward for the trust to act or at the very least agree to make contact with other Trusts and try and organise collective action among everyone.

With possibly the most important decision facing Scottish Football being imminent and Supporters Direct, as the umbrella group, providing the evidence of supporter dissatisfaction the ICT Trust is in the strongest position to represent the opinions of ICT supporters. An AGM is exactly the right time to canvass members opinion and then take it to a wider meeting for all fans or announce what action may be considered.

[CaleyD]

Which is precisely what I said!!!!

[L_G]

I think it is the time for all the Trusts to co-ordinate and arrange a protest. If ever there was a time for them to prove their usefulness now is it.

With an AGM at such an opportune time surely the SPL and Butchers comments should be pretty much the only topic on the discussion?!

See my post immediately before this one. There is a meeting of all Trusts on Sunday to discuss the way forward.

There will obviously be some discussion about this at the AGM and I'm sure it will crop up at the forum too. I think it would be wrong to take over the evening totally, but we could have another meeting once we hear the outcome of the Supporters Direct meeting on Sunday.

Hope to see you tomorrow

[Bridge_Ender]

Not really the main purpose of an AGM which is there to discuss matters arising in the running of the business/organisation in the previous 12 months and making any changes/proposals for the following 12 months (loosely speaking).

I'm sure the subject will come up for discussion and members will be asking what is and can be done but the issue is one which would be served better by a meeting open to all fans, the club and anyone else with an interest in the subject....which a company AGM is not.

Do AGM's not have a time for AOB anymore? Agree that they have their own business to attend to first but it wouldn't take much to have an open discussion with members about what would be the best way forward for the trust to act or at the very least agree to make contact with other Trusts and try and organise collective action among everyone.

With possibly the most important decision facing Scottish Football being imminent and Supporters Direct, as the umbrella group, providing the evidence of supporter dissatisfaction the ICT Trust is in the strongest position to represent the opinions of ICT supporters. An AGM is exactly the right time to canvass members opinion and then take it to a wider meeting for all fans or announce what action may be considered.

Which is precisely what I said!!!!

Not really, you said that the AGM was there to discuss business matters arising in the previous 12 months and changes/proposals for the following 12 months then said whilst there may be discussion the issue would be better served by a meeting all fans could attend, which the AGM is not.

That's not the same thing as agreeing that the AGM is the place for discussion between members and a proposal for action put forward to fans who are not Trust members.

L_G - I'm afraid I live in Glasgow and won't make the AGM, will be interested to hear what happens though.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Bridge_Ender

[TopSix]

I too don't live locally and won't make the AGM. I'd be interested to hear what's said and what actions are planned.

I think I still have a membership of the trust but I'm not 100% sure if I've paid my subscription for this season.